Printers, typically networked or connected to computers, are used for printing a variety of images utilizing a multitude of interchangeable ink cassettes on a variety of print media. It has become common practice to interchange and/or switch ink cassettes or cartridges when changing print media, altering the desired ink (i.e. color, edible, non-edible, etc.), or when replacing a depleted ink cassette. Typically, an ink cartridge or ink cassette includes an identifying arrangement which allows only standard or specific ink cartridges to be loaded into a particular type or brand of printer. Some ink cassettes, in order to be loaded into a particular printer, are provided with projection and recess pattern portions formed on an outer surface thereof. An electrode portion can be arranged on the projection and recess pattern portions. The projection and recess patterns can be in the form of a mechanical key scheme integrated into a composite pattern on both a print cartridge and its corresponding printer carriage chute or compartment. The pattern can incorporate a plurality of adjacent contiguous columns on both sides of a latch, with each column capable of defining multiple position bits in order to precisely differentiate between different types and/or different families of print cartridges. Thus, printer carriage chutes can differentiate and prevent certain types and/or certain families of print cartridges from entering the chute. Such mechanical keys are usually developed by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) whereby only certain print cassettes will work with a corresponding brand of printer. The current mechanical key schemes provide a predetermined and fixed differentiation between different types and/or different families of print cartridges.
Devices heretofore available do not enable selectively altering the mechanical key schemes or interlock. In today's environment printers are required to do more and must be able to allow for a variety of different ink cassettes to accomplish different objectives. For example, different ink cassettes can be used, especially for home use or small business, where different colors and/or different types of ink may be desired. One application is for the printing of edible ink onto, for example, rice paper. This particular application is the result of business in the cake or food decorating environment. Several suppliers currently make ink cassettes for OEM printers which use food dyes or edible ink. The edible ink goes into and through the printing nozzles and out onto the rice paper which can subsequently be laid on icing for bakery cakes to create custom images or pictures. Once rice paper has been loaded into the paper tray and/or when edible ink is required, it is desirable to only allow edible ink cassettes to be inserted into the printer carriage. This necessitates that the printer carriage now prohibit insertion of an originally insertable ink cassette into the printer carriage. It is to be appreciated that the originally or previously insertable ink cassette includes non-edible ink which now must be prohibited from printing on rice paper, or other similar material, which may later be consumed by a person. At present, the printer industry is using commercially available ink jet printers and filling special cassettes with edible ink. The end user may mistake the normal ink jet cassette (filled with industrial dyes) and put it into the printer, thus creating a health hazard and liability risk.
The ability to selectively interchange ink cassettes for different purposes increases the versatility of a printer, especially for home use or small business use where it is cost prohibitive to acquire separate printers for specialized purposes. Thus, it is desirable to safely interchange ink cassettes for different purposes thereby increasing the versatility of a printer while reducing and/or eliminating any health hazards or other problems or potential problems.